News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Sorted by date Results 151 - 175 of 734
Talk about being at the right place at the right time. Three tiny arachnids showed up within minutes of each other just as I was sitting down to write a piece on the hacklemesh spider that also walked into my life. My wife, Sue, doesn't come into my office unless she really has to, because I will not destroy spider webs on my windows, walls, floor and ceiling. Not that she's afraid of spiders; she's not, but she's not a happy camper because I won't go along with "dusting" and... Full story
Last week, Kathy Winn, who lives north of Sisters, sent me a photo of an owl perched on a road sign near Sage Meadow, thinking I'd enjoy seeing it. Did I ever! I thanked Kathy for thinking of me - and all of us here in Sisters Country: "Many thanks for the sighting, Kathy - that's the barred owl (BAOW) a species who is (supposedly) causing a great deal of havoc with the northern spotted owl (SPOW), and a row between birders and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service." BAOWs found... Full story
It's been said that "volunteers make the world go 'round," and indeed it does seem to be that way. Take the Friends of the Sisters Library (FOSL) for example. Once a month, the volunteer members of the FOSL Board get together at the Sisters Library to make plans on how to make money to help keep the Sisters Library going smoothly and to pump a sizable amount of cash into the Deschutes Public Library System (DPLS). At the moment the FOSL Board is operating with nine local volun... Full story
Jodi Schneider McNamee's story, "Minipoodle rescues furry companion," (The Nugget, November 4, page 1) reminded me of the way coyotes have spread all over the USA over the years, from the desert southwest to Chicago, Astoria, New England, L.A. and all points in between. Way back, when European-Americans began to spread all over North America, coyotes were pretty much limited to the southwest, making a living on carrion, rodents, rabbits and other small prey. If a coyote... Full story
Back in the early 1960s, I began placing USFW #9 bands on the legs of golden eagle nestlings. I had been climbing into and out of eagle nests in Deschutes, Lake and Jefferson counties from about 1953, trying to learn more about diet, territory, mortality and their natural history. I found nestlings and adults shot in the nest, then I discovered both bald and golden eagle dead near 1080 poison stations all across the Great Sandy Desert and Fort Rock District of the Deschutes... Full story
"Jim, I have lived near Sisters for 10 years and just saw my first short-tailed weasel," Jolynn Lambert told me in an email. "I was sitting at my table looking out my sliding glass door when he stood on his hind legs and peeked in. I watched him scurry away. I hope he comes back." Talk about luck! It isn't every day that someone comes face-to-face with this little sneak of the sagebrush and juniper country. Weasels in general are just not that friendly with anyone. They make a... Full story
"I think it's a good way to give back to the ecosystem that provides so much for us, and to study our environment and learn how it changes," said Lauren Wattenburg, Sisters High School (SHS) junior, reflecting on her time helping to replant the riparian zone on the banks of Whychus Creek. Last Tuesday afternoon, 20 juniors from Glenn Herron's SHS science and Interdisciplinary Environmental Expedition (IEE) class arrived by school bus at the creek to help repair its banks. IEE... Full story
Last Tuesday was Outdoor School Day at Brand 33 Restaurant at Aspen Lakes. Jullian Johnsen (Camp Name: Waikiki), head of the Oregon Outdoor School Coalition, gave members of the Rotary Club of Sisters the latest news on attempts to provide the Outdoor School experiences to all Oregon fifth- and sixth-graders. Educational leaders throughout the nation have said over and over again there is a huge need to bring children back into having exciting and positive experiences with... Full story
The Reno Championship Air Races are held on the third weekend in September. I've been there since they started in 1964. More than 250,000 fans of air racing come from all over the world to take part, and my family has been among them for many of those 51 years. My brother Don and his son David met me at the Riley Junction and we drove down together. When we arrived we met up with my Air Force Reserve son, Col. Ross Anderson, Commanding Officer of the USAF Reserve Wing at... Full story
It's the deer and elk migration season. We're going to see mule deer and elk wandering through our backyards. Cover your cabbage, harvest your carrots, but forget about mowing the lawn - the deer and elk will do it for you. Securing your backyard will make the season safer for the migrants. Make sure the summer hammock you loved to nap in under your favorite juniper tree is stored safely away in the garage; pick up all the kids' toys; also the screening you put up to protect the strawberries from the resident robins. Things... Full story
Walking into the Sisters Library will take you on a trip back to when sprawling Pleistocene lakes drowned faulted basins, and the First People roamed the surrounding hills gathering materials to make tools, food to feed their families, and enjoying their time on earth. Those early people lived in rock shelters and caves that faced huge lakes throughout Central Oregon. They gathered edible plants growing in the soil near them and hunted waterfowl, deer, elk and bighorn sheep,... Full story
Back in 1979, I was the manager of Ramsey Canyon Preserve in Southeast Arizona, once known as the "Hummingbird Capitol of the World." Unbeknownst to the birders who labeled that beautiful place for the 12 or so hummingbirds that were around in summer, it is also the "Skunk Capitol of the World." All four skunks native to the Good Old U.S. of A. can be found at Ramsey Canyon, day or night, five days (and nights) a week. The largest stinker is the hog-nosed, second in line the... Full story
"Does the weather feel like fall?" Sisters High Desert Chorale musical director, Irene Liden, asked and, answering her own question with a big "YES!" She then threw up her arms and shouted, "So, let's begin!" For the singers of Sisters Country, the arrival of autumn weather means it's time to think singing about Christmas, snowballs, holiday good times, and Handel's Hallelujah Chorus. The High Desert Chorale will be starting it's holiday season practice on Monday, September... Full story
What does a person like Sandy Sharp do when she retires after working for the U.S. Forest Service for over 19 years? She becomes a Fire Prevention Volunteer on Green Ridge Lookout, of course. All through the summer, 36 volunteers take turns staffing the lookout, some for a week at a time, others, like Sharp, one day a week. Last year, when Sharp went to Green Ridge it was at the time of the Bridge 99 Fire, and after the sun went down she had second thoughts about what she had... Full story
In the 1800s, westward expansion of settlers and their livestock brought them into direct contact with wolves - because much of the wolves' prey base was destroyed as agriculture ate up what was once wildlife habitat. With their prey base removed, wolves had no alternative but to prey on domestic livestock, which resulted in humans eliminating wolves from most of their historical range in the West. They were trapped and shot for a bounty, trapped for fur, and killed just... Full story
Spotted knapweed is a persistent, invasive pest that is pushing many of our native plants aside, using precious water and nutrients. There are two seasons when it is most vulnerable: spring, when it first starts growing, and right now - late summer - when it has gone to seed. Property managers can kill it now before it can spread any more seeds. It's too late to use any chemicals; you must pull it out of the ground - carefully so as not to spread the seeds, knock off the... Full story
Last Wednesday was the 130th anniversary of the birth of Luther Metke, cabin-builder of Camp Sherman. A big celebration of his life was held on Metke Lane in Metolius. There were several presenters providing information on recreation, film, wildlife, history and cabin-building. There were guided walks throughout the Metke Corridor on butterfly and birding talks, picnicking, games, and lots of, "Oh, hi there, haven't seen you in a long time," greetings of old friends and pals... Full story
What fun it is to be alive! And what fun it is to have a pal like Brent McGregor. Every time I hear from Brent he has something to tell me I din't know, or something to show me I've never seen. This time it was another of his astonishing macro photos, asking, "What is it?" Look at that photo! It's so sharp it looks like the fly's setae/bristles can punch into your hand like an ice pick. What a guy. Well, from my first look I put it into the botfly tribe, those blood-sucking flesh-feeders that just about cause most people to u... Full story
Log trucks once rolled through Sisters in great numbers. Not anymore. From the paucity of log rigs, one might think the U.S. Forest Service was out of business - but they're not. One of the factors that makes our forest valuable -aside from providing wildlife habitat and recreation opportunities - is the diversity of life one can find among all those magnificent trees. The evidence of all that diversity came to light recently with a call to The Nugget from a concerned... Full story
Our climate is changing. It always has and it always will. Earth doesn't exist in a static environment. Beyond the fact that the sun heats the earth unevenly, both daily and seasonally, it also goes through cycles of approximately 11 years when it shines slightly brighter, then dimmer. Increased volcanic activity is also known to alter the global climate, the Crater Lake eruption being a local example. Finally, over periods of thousands to millions of years, the tilt of the... Full story
My two older sons are F-16 pilots, they get paid to fly fast and are prepared to go into lethal battle to protect us from anyone who is a threat to our welfare and safety. They have to train religiously to keep current of what the rest of the world is up to and insure they are faster and better then their potential adversary. Old Mother Nature does the same thing, and through the processes of natural selection, insures that only the best survive. Take beewolves, also known as... Full story
Wind-power investors really know how to use their money: They buy a politician to help them make it - so they can kill more birds. This year, with unprecedented power and gall, Representative Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, inserted a rider - a type of amendment - into the budget for Commerce, Justice and Science that would prevent federal prosecutors from enforcing the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA). Undoing a law of such historical importance should be discussed and... Full story
Last week a woman walked into The Nugget office and reported she was seeing fewer mule deer does with fawns in the area where she lives east of Sisters. She contacted the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) - and wondered if others in Sisters Country had the same concerns. According to Cory Heath, wildlife biologist for ODFW, this has, indeed, been a poor year for fawn survival. The reason is a growing threat from what appears to be adenoviruses, aka AHD. This... Full story
This is that time of year when baby birds begin appearing in unexpected places. The other day, I got a call on my cell phone from a lady on a bike who had came upon a baby bird right in the middle of the bike path. She said she screeched to a halt, leaned her bike against a tree and was about to pick up the little darlin' when she was suddenly accosted by a very irate momma robin. That was a happy ending, the biker said to herself: "Momma bird is attacking me; there's a baby b... Full story
Lauren Mork, monitoring coordinator for the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council, is looking for help to survey invertebrates (animals without backbones) in Whychus Creek on August 15, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. This will be another opportunity to join the Upper Deschutes Watershed Council and Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, to collect macroinvertebrates -the aquatic life stage of insects, such as mayflies, caddisflies, and stoneflies - in Whychus Creek. Folks... Full story
